Cave Writings
Cave Writings is a location and an activity in JumpStart 2nd Grade. It is accessed by clicking on the 'Cave Writings' button on the elevator. It is designed to teach visual discrimination and language arts skills for second grade. Characters *CJ *Edison *Arvin Premise CJ and Edison descend into the JumpStart Caves to decode cryptic messages. Description Before the player can reach the caves where the writings are located, they must solve a riddle from the cave keeper, Arvin the caterpillar. Arvin will ask a multiple-choice question related to biology. The player must select the correct answer to cross Arvin's bridge to the caves. Once inside the caves, the player must decode a word on the rock wall. Words are written in either Braille, American Sign Language, or Larvaic (language of the larvae). The arrow near the bottom right of the rock wall changes the key on the wall. There are three keys for deciphering the three languages. The player should find the key that correlates to the writings on the wall. Once the player has the right key, they must translate the word by matching each of the symbols to a letter of the English alphabet. The player must click and drag the letters, and drop them beneath the symbols to spell out a word. Difficulty level differences *'Level 1 (Scout)': The player must spell words up to six letters long. *'Level 2 (Explorer)': The player must spell words up to ten letters long. *'Level 3 (Trailblazer)': The player must spell words up to twelve letters long. Digital manual description Step into the underground world of the JumpStart Caves and decode the secret messages. First, you must cross the bridge guarded by the Cave Keeper, a real cool caterpillar named Arvin. Arvin asks multiple choice word problems about animals. You must answer correctly to pass. At the bridge, solve Arvin's riddle by clicking on the correct answer. Click on alphabet sign to follow CJ and Edison into the cave! Playing The Decoder CJ helps us to identify the clues Edison hides using magical fairy dust. Rotate the decoder so that the symbols match those in the coded message. Then match the letters and signs to reveal the word! *Click on the Arrow near the bottom right of the decoder panel to change the language to match the secret message. You can choose from American Sign Language, Larvaic or Braille. *Click on the letter below the symbol on the panel to pick it up. Then, drag the letter to the empty space below the matching character in the decoder. *Click again to place it in the space. *When you complete a word, Edison will create a new message for you to decode. *Click the Green Arrow to return to the elevator. Levels 1. Scout: up to six-letter words such as: bud muddy jaw nail spell bounce cold bowl short 2. Explorer: up to ten-letter words such as: friendly morning divided sandal weather surprise talking screamed yesterday 3. Trailblazer: up to twelve-letter words such as: alphabetize consonant environment camera geometry prediction seventh violin measurement Educational and Developmental Benefits The decoder emphasizes visual discrimination and reinforces reading and spelling skills. Specific skills involved are sentence structure, word problems, deducing, basic logic and recognizing patterns. Gallery 2G caterpillar question.png|Arvin's riddle Category:JumpStart 2nd Grade Category:Activities Category:Locations Category:Spelling Category:Activities that teach spelling Category:Language arts Category:Activities that teach language arts Category:Science Category:Activities that teach science Category:Life science Category:Activities that teach life science Category:Visual discrimination Category:Activities that teach visual discrimination